Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Khamzat Chimaev Names His Toughest Opponent in the UFC!

Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Khamzat Chimaev is a force to be reckoned with in the world of MMA. He is known for his ferocious grappling, relentless pressure, and making his opponents tap out more often than not. Nicknamed “Borz,” which translates to wolf, he’s been a terrifying fighter for many of his opponents and has been waiting for a title shot. He fights in the middleweight division and is after the belt. The current middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis is also awaiting his next match and it is highly likely that Chimaev is next.

Dana White, President of the UFC, has been making the Russian wait for a shot at the title and Chimaev is not happy. He has a perfect record of 14-0-0 so far in his MMA career and is 8-0 in his UFC career. Chimaev has not fought since October of 2024 and since Du Plessis is also waiting for his next opponent, White should definitely set this fight up and give the fans what they want to see.

Also Read: Jamahal Hill Gives Alex Pereira His Flowers, Praises Poatan for Being a Good Father!

Chimaev has taken down some of the best fighters in the middleweight division and while some wins came pretty easy, there were others that were a hard fought victory. Recently, Chimaev revealed the toughest fighter he’s faced so far in the UFC. So let’s see who that is.

Chimaev Said Kamaru Usman Gave Him the Hardest Fight of His Career

When Chimaev was asked about who the hardest opponent he ever faced was, he simply replied “Kamaru Usman.” The Russian also added “I was trying to choke him for five minutes, but he defended well.”

Khamzat Chimaev takes the majority decision!!

He leaves #UFC294 with the victory over Kamaru Usman at #UFC294 pic.twitter.com/EjxZT6XiBA
— UFC (@ufc) October 21, 2023

At UFC 294, on October of 2023, we saw Khamzat Chimaev take on Kamaru Usman and that is still some of the best fights we’ve ever seen. Both of these fighters were unwilling to go down and the bout went down to the wire. Even though Chimaev came out on top at the end, he barely won the fight. In fact the fight was so close and entertaining that almost every fan wanted them to fight for five rounds rather than three and even Usman himself wished that the Chimaev fight was five rounds.

👀⚡️Khamzat Chimaev said Kamaru Usman was toughest opponent in his UFC career:

"He’s wrestling is good. He defended my takedowns well. I tried to choke him for 5 minutes but his defense was too good."

🎥 azamat chef▫️ pic.twitter.com/ueqVrYniek
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) March 11, 2025

Kamaru Usman vs Khamzat Chimaev Stats

Chimaev usually likes to finish his fights very early but that did not happen against Usman. The Russian was 4/12 when it came to his takedowns, and had just 33.3 % success rate. In terms of significant strikes, Chimaev had 38 whereas Usman had 36. The majority of the stats were extremely close but the one that may have costed Usman the fight is in total strikes. Chimaev had connected 107 total strikes compared to Usman’s 58 (difference of 49).

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ESPN MMA (@espnmma)

The fight could have gone either ways but Chimaev, somehow, still managed to remain undefeated.

Also Read: Henry Cejudo, Kamaru Usman Have Different Views On The Pound For Pound Rankings Post UFC 313

Kamaru Usman

Khamzat Chimaev

UFC

Eric Divakaran

nba

nfl

mma

I cover the National Football League and things cannot get better than that. I always dreamed to play football or basketball professionally since I’m built like a Running Back. But now that I can’t, since I’m technically in the “Unc” age, I thought why not pick a career in sports industry? So here I am, doing what I love, and hoping that the Commanders win the Super Bowl. I give love to players when it’s due, but can be critical about their performances at the same time. Enough about me, now let my articles do all the talking.